Halstead's Secret (Rewritten)
by anotherlifeontheinternet
Summary: Jay Halstead has been hiding an unusual secret from his colleagues since the day he stepped into Intelligence. But, what happens when this secret is unveiled by his best friend and partner Erin Lindsay? Will it change their relationship for the better or ruin it?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to _Halstead's Secret_ (Rewritten)! I am so excited to finally be able to take the time to focus on this story and my other chapter story _Finding Mia._ For those of you who followed my original story, don't assume this story will be like the original (as much as we all love the OG). I have some brand new ideas to make the story fresh and a little bit more realistic! For those of who haven't read the original _Halstead's Secret_ , I really REALLY hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. **

**Please review after reading the chapter and let me know what you think. It means so much to me and helps fuel me with more ideas of what you guys want to read. Or if you aren't quite sure what to write in a review, click the favorite button so you will be alerted every time I update - which could be as soon as tomorrow! OR JUST DO BOTH :))**

 **Lastly, thank you all for your amazing support/responses to my author's note on the Original _Halstead's Secret_! Like I said, your feedback means so much to me! **

**Happy Reading!**

It had been an incredibly grueling week for the whole Intelligence Team. They had taken on, possibly, their biggest case of the month, with ten homicides ranging in different locations of the city and one criminal mastermind behind the operation. For the detectives working the case, the uncomfortable mattresses in the locker room of District 21, had become their new home. These grueling hours and sleep deprivation, were just some of the reasons Erin Lindsay was incredibly grateful to be turning over to the last page of Internal Affairs demanding paperwork.

Taking a moment to rest her hand from it's work, Erin lifted her head and witnessed the rest of her team filling out their paperwork as well. Ruzek and Atwater, although, were busy chatting away about anything other than the copious amounts of work that was sitting on their desk, while Antonio and Olinsky were nearing the end of their work just as she was.

As Erin turned her glance towards her partner, she was taken back as to what she saw. Jay Halstead was already turning off his computer and swiftly stacking all of his cases files into a folder, before standing up to put on his coat.

He never finishes paperwork this early. What the hell is going on. Of course, Erin could be thinking way too much into her partner's exceptional work ethic tonight, but then again it wasn't like him. They had been partners for nearly a year now and Erin had picked up on a lot of his habits. Finishing paperwork the same day they closed the case was not on her list of Jay Halstead's habits.

"Woah! Halstead! You're out of here already", Ruzek said suddenly turning away from his intriguing conversation with Atwater, as he watched Jay tuck in his chair.

"The sleepover was fun guys, but if I have to listen to Kevin snoring for a third day straight, I may commit myself", Jay joked.

"Well, at least go to Molly's with us", Atwater piped into the conversation, trying his best to steer away from the snoring comment.

Jay just shook his head as Erin watched him walk over closer to her desk and drag his fingers against the edges. A ritual she had definitely picked up on as a sign Jay was going home for the night.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow", he said as his fingers reached the edge of Erin's desk, he gave her a smile, and then proceeded to leave the district.

"Man, what a buzzkill", Adam scoffed, after hearing the heavy metal security gate close.

"Not everyone loves to go get hammered after a case like you do Ruzek", Antonio said, coming to Jay's defense.

Erin watched as Ruzek dismissed Antonio's comment and turned around to grab his coat of the chair, leaving the paperwork untouched on his desk. "Lindsay. Tell me you're still at least on board for one drink", he pleaded with her.

"Well, since I just finished all of my paperwork. I think I can treat myself to one drink", Erin said with a smile coming to her face.

"But, only if you buy", she added. It was too easy not to tease Ruzek. Plus, when it came to buying drinks at Molly's, asking Ruzek to buy you a drink turns into him buying you five drinks.

XXX

Upon entering Molly's, Erin immediately noticed that the local bar was practically filled with the typical Thursday night crowd. Hermann was behind the bar, serving the Firehouse 51 crew, who were off tonight, and the doctor's from Chicago Med, who kept their pagers close by waiting for their next call. Then, of course, there were the out of place college girls, who had just happened to stumble across Molly's tonight, most likely looking for a firefighter. Erin had seen her fair share of those girls, most of them usually hitting on her partner.

There was Jay again, slipping so nonchalantly into her subconscious. Since he left the squad room, earlier in the evening, Erin had begun to pick apart all of his actions today to try to solve why he left so early. At first, she took his excuse of wanting to get some sleep after the long case, that was until she realized she hadn't picked up on Jay's unusual habits today.

Throughout the day he seemed in a rush, whether it was to get to one place to the next or it was finishing his paperwork in record speed. He had taken a couple private calls today in the breakroom, but never shared the details with her.

Erin did not expect for Jay to practically divulge everything that was going on his life to her. They had been intensely focused on this case and there was absolutely no room for distraction. But, at the same time, Erin was under the belief that they had become close throughout the past year, after all their long hours on stakeouts and even on personal outings, like Erin's high school reunion. She had never been so vulnerable about her past in front of anyone before. For this reason, Erin believed that if anything was going on with Jay, he would confide in her. Just as she had done with him.

"Lindsay". Antonio's voice calling her name suddenly broke the young detective away from her thoughts as she looked up towards the man sitting across from her.

"Did you just hear anything I said", he laughed, as he sipped his beer and witnessed the deer in headlights expression Erin currently had on her face.

"Sorry, I zoned out a little bit", Erin apologized, nervously shifting her beer back and forth in her hands. "Where did Ruzek go", she asked beginning to look around the bar for the, most likely, inebriated form of Adam Ruzek.

"He went to go get himself another beer, but I know he just got up to have an excuse to go talk to Burgess", Antonio explained nodding towards the bar. Erin turned her head to find Adam and Kim Burgess, a younger uniform officer, flirting at the bar.

"He hadn't even finished that beer he had in his hands when he got up", Antonio pointed out, causing Erin to laugh. It was a mystery to both detectives how Ruzek was ever able to work undercover cases. He was a terrible liar.

"So, what's on your mind", Antonio asked in a sudden turn of events.

Jay. "Nothing. I'm just exhausted", Erin said as she sipped her beer. Even though most of the Intelligence Unit, Voight especially, had their suspicions about Erin and Jay's relationship, she was not just about to prove them to be true.

"Any idea what was going on with Jay. He seemed in quite a rush to get out of the district today", Antonio commented.

Erin felt her cheeks flush at the mention of her partner's name, but quickly looked down, swiping a piece of hair in front of her face, in hopes Antonio wouldn't notice.

"I think he was just exhausted", she answered simply. Before Antonio could counter her statement, Ruzek walked over to their table, pulling Burgess along with him, who just couldn't seem to stop laughing.

"Hey guys! You know Burgess, right", Adam stupidly questioned as himself and Kim stood at the end of the table.

Antonio and Erin shared a light laugh at Adam's total obliviousness to the fact his co-workers were very aware of the woman who he could not stop flirting with.

"Adam. Thanks for the beers, but I think I'm going to go home for the night", Erin said as she gave everyone a smile and stood up, taking her jacket off the chair.

The three members of District 21 said goodbye to Erin as she stood and began to make her way out of the crowded bar. Erin was met with several other goodbyes before she finally got out the doorway and was met with a cool autumn breeze. She quickly found her car and put the key in the ignition, adjusting the temperature of her air conditioning in the process.

Her initial plan was to go home for the first time in three days. Erin could practically picture right now the inviting presence of her bedroom, where she would crawl in, wearing her most comfortable sweatpants and neglect to take the makeup of the today off.

Although, as she began to drive, that plan was very quickly neglected as she turned down one of the many streets of Chicago that would not lead her to her home.

XXX

The second Erin entered Jay's apartment building, she grew incredibly nervous. The only explanation for these nerves could be the fact that she felt like she was intruding. That she was entering uncharted territory where she was not wanted.

Even though she knew the address to Jay's apartment, she had simply only been outside to pick him up when his car was in the shop. She had never actually been inside his apartment and now as she stood in front of it, she regretted driving here in the first place.

But, she was concerned about her partner and this felt like the right thing to do, which was why she raised her fist and knocked firmly on the front door of Jay's apartment.

Erin heard rushed footsteps coming from inside of the apartment and she immediately became nervous. It wasn't too late, but Jay was exhausted when he had left the District. Maybe she had woken him up.

As these thoughts ran through Erin's head, the door suddenly opened and there, standing before Erin's eyes, stood a little girl, who could be no older than five. She had wavy long dirty blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose. She must have been getting ready for bed because she had a small princess nightgown on. In summary, the little girl that stood before her was absolutely beautiful. Erin was just about to apologize, because she must have gotten the number of Jay's apartment messed up, when the little girl in front of her opened her mouth to speak.

"Hi", she said a bright smile coming to her face that made Erin's heart melt. "I'm Maggie Halstead! Who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm Maggie Halstead"

Those three words ran around Erin's head at least a thousand times. This was Jay's apartment. This little girl was a Halstead. In some way, that Erin was too afraid to wrap her mind around, Maggie was related to Jay.

"Who are you", Maggie repeated, this time shifting her balance back and forth on each foot. She was growing incredibly antsy and in desperate need of this stranger to answer her question.

"Um...I'm Erin", she introduced herself. Before she could say anything else, Erin watched an absolutely ecstatic expression come across the little girl's face.

"Daddy", Maggie exclaimed as she turned around and ran back into the apartment.

There it was. The magic word Erin had been too scared to admit to herself. This little girl was Jay's daughter. A daughter, well basically a whole life, he had kept incredibly private and away from her.

Just when she thought she had picked up on every habit of her partner's, there was something gigantically new and surprising around the corner.

Once again, Erin heard several pairs of footsteps in the apartment, until Maggie came back to the door with Jay Halstead right on her tail.

"Erin", Jay said in a low whisper. He was completely shocked that she was here. She had never been to his home before and of course the one time she does, Maggie is up after her bedtime and answers the door.

"Uh, Maggie. Why don't you go ask Uncle Will to read you a bedtime story and I will be right there, okay", Jay suggested looking down towards Maggie who just could not seem to wipe that grin off her face.

"Okay", Maggie happily obliged as she disappeared down the hallway of the apartment and then it was just Jay and Erin.

"You have a daughter", was all Erin said. Jay just nodded. He couldn't tell if Erin was surprised or pissed, or, even worse, both.

"You have a daughter", she repeated this time turning her back to him. There was a moment of silence, until Erin turned back around and faced her partner.

"How come you didn't tell me", Erin asked. Jay opened his mouth to answer, but Erin raised her hand in disapproval.

"We've been partners for nearly a year. I've told you things about my life that I've never told anyone before. Hell, Jay! I even trust you with my life", Erin said, beginning to raise her voice.

"And to find out you can't even trust me enough to tell me about your daughter", she said as her voice began to waiver. Erin hoped that Jay couldn't sense the sadness that she had heard in her own voice. Yes, she was pissed at Jay. But, at the same time, she was heartbroken. Heartbroken that it took her to show up to his apartment in order to unveil his secret.

When Jay said nothing in return to her words, Erin shook her head and let out a quiet laugh. "I'll see you on Monday, Jay", she said waving her hand in his direction before turning around.

Just as Erin turned her back, she felt Jay's hand grab her own and turn her around. Erin looked at him shocked and noticed that he was surprised with his own actions as well.

"I'm sorry", Jay said, taking a glance from their grasped hands to her hazel eyes. "I do trust you and I'm sure as hell glad you trust me. Just come in and let me explain", he pleaded with her.

Erin couldn't help the smile that came to her face when those words rolled off her partner's tongue. She didn't have to say anything, just a nod of her head, and Jay dropped her hand, then turned to walk back into his apartment.

Erin followed closely behind Jay into his apartment and immediately picked up on the fact that Maggie was still awake and Will was most likely known as the 'fun uncle'.

"Hey Erin", Will greeted her as she stood near the edge of the couch where he sat with Maggie on his lap, who was engrossed in a TV show.

"Will, I asked you to put her to bed" Jay reprimanded his older brother. Will Halstead strived to be the most fun relative Maggie knew, which meant that he often dismayed from the orders his brother would give him.

"Woah, I'm pretty sure Maggie told me she could stay up until midnight tonight", Will teased.

Maggie immediately gasped and hopped up from her spot on the couch, "No I didn't! I told Uncle Will to read me a story and then I would go to bed", the little girl explained as she ran over to her father.

As soon as Maggie jumped off of him, Will stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the couch. "Well, my job is done here", he said to Erin as she laughed.

"Glad my brother finally brought you around, Erin", Will added before walking out of the apartment.

At the sound of the door closing, both Jay and Maggie turned around and noticed Will was gone and Erin stood in his place. Erin noticed when Maggie made eye contact with her, that contagious smile spread across her face.

"Can I please stay awake, Daddy", Maggie pleaded hanging on her father's arm. "I want spend time with your pretty partner that you always", she began to speak before Jay swiftly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Oh, no missy. It's definitely time for bed", Jay said as she lifted her up in his strong arms and carried her to her room.

"I'll be right back", Jay said as he walked down the hallway, to where Erin could only imagine Maggie's bedroom was.

"Gooodd Nightt Erin", Maggie exclaimed before she disappeared down the hallway.

As soon as the two Halsteads were out of her sight, Erin began to walk around the apartment. She finally understood why they hung out at her place a lot. Maggie's toys were scattered all over the living room, along with her artwork hanging on the fridge. Erin couldn't help but smile as she saw the pictures of Maggie and Jay on the side table and other pictures of Maggie posing on her own, most likely after milestone events, like the first day of school.

"Sorry about the mess", Jay said, interrupting her thoughts as he re-entered the living room. "I left Will in charge of Maggie today and needless to say, he doesn't enforce the rules", he explained.

Erin laughed, "I noticed", she said looking down at the floor as her foot made contact with a soccer ball.

"You want a beer", Jay asked as he made his way over to the kitchen. "Trying to get me drunk, so I forget Maggie existed", Erin teased.

Erin heard him laugh as he reached into the fridge to grab his drink. With just that one comment, the light banter they always had together was back. It was almost as if the whole 'fight' that had just occurred in the hallway had never actually happened.

"I take it Adam picked up the tab tonight", Jay presumed as he returned to the living room and gestured for them to sit on the couch.

"Yeah. He's most likely on his fourth or fifth beer right now as he tries out cheesy pick up lines on Burgess", Erin commented.

"Kim Burgess? The uniform cop who has had like eight different partners in the last four months", Jay asked.

"You didn't know", Erin stated shocked. "They've been hooking up for probably a month now. It is so obvious", she explained.

"I have lots of other things to focus on other than who Ruzek is banging", Jay laughed causing Erin to laugh as well.

Her laughter began to subside as she realized what in fact was the 'other thing' Jay's mind was always preoccupied with. It was Maggie. When they weren't deep in a case and staying up late into the hours of the night, Jay was thinking about Maggie.

"I guess I should explain to you like I promised", Jay said after a few moments of silence.

Erin simply nodded her head and sunk back deep into the comfort of her partner's couch as he opened his mouth to begin the story of Maggie.

 **A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and continued support on the first chapter! If you enjoyed this chapter and wanna let me know what you thought, please review/favorite!** **The next chapter will be the story of Maggie :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's finally here! THE STORY OF MAGGIE! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review to let me know what you think :)**

Before he began to speak, Jay took a long sip from his beer, placed it on the coffee table, and then followed Erin's similar actions in leaning back in his seat.

"When I returned home from Afghanistan, I was still trying to figure out where I fit in. After Mouse helped me get through a lot of the demons I was fighting, it was him who convinced me to fill out the paperwork to join the police academy", Jay began his story.

Erin nodded her head, as sign to her partner that she was listening. Of course, she wouldn't admit it, but she was hanging on to every word he said. Jay had revealed very little about his time in the Army with Mouse and she knew something had happened there, but just not enough details to know how bad it really was.

"Anyway, I was returning home from turning in my paperwork to the academy and when I reached my doorstep, there she was", Jay said a smile coming to his face as he remembered the first time he had seen his daughter.

"She was extra fussy, after probably being left there for hours. I am still surprised none of my neighbors saw her", he added a few details.

"There was a short note pinned to the blanket that was addressed to me, basically saying that she was my daughter and that her mother signed over all of her parental rights to me", Jay finished.

"And that's it", Jay ended the short story. "That's it", Erin repeated. Jay nodded as an answer to her question.

"How old was she", Erin asked.

"Only a month. The second I brought her inside and got a close look at her, I called Will. I was freaked out because she was so small that I thought she was a newborn, who had no vaccinations", Jay said.

"So, her mother just abandoned her. Just dropped her off at your doorstep", Erin questioned, desperately trying to hide the anger in her voice. She had such a hard time understanding why anyone would ever do that to their child.

"Kinda pisses you off right", Jay said leaning forward to take another sip of his beer. "Yeah, it pissed me off for the longest time. Then I realized, that if Maggie had never been dropped off that day, I would have never known her", he stated.

"And she's just about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me", Jay added.

Erin felt her heart practically melt at her partner's words. Jay was probably the most amazing father in the whole world to Maggie. Just by the amount of toys and pictures in the house, Erin could tell he treated her like a princess.

"I take it you weren't madly in love with Maggie's mother", Erin said before she even registered the words that were coming out of her mouth. She really didn't want to ask about that. The rational side of her wanted to keep this conversation strictly about Maggie. But, of course the part of her that got goosebumps every time she was near Jay Halstead, kept blabbing about whatever thought came to mind.

I've never been in love with anyone as much as I think I may be in love with you. "Nope. Just a one night stand", Jay said instead.

Erin's brain practically erupted with joy when that comment came from her partner, but she prayed to God she didn't show it.

"Probably better that way. If there was a significant relationship going on, it would probably make me more angry and then give Maggie a negative idea about her mother", Jay explained.

"She's asked about her", Erin asked, curious. She was very familiar with the curiosity of wondering where the missing parent was. It was hard when everyone had a dad when she was younger, but Erin couldn't even imagine what is was like without even the presence of a mother. Bunny may have not been the greatest role model as Erin got older, but when she was four years old, Bunny was someone who Erin loved.

"Last year, her school had a Mother's Day themed activity day and Maggie pretended to be sick the morning of as I was getting her ready", Jay said as he picked up his beer and took a sip, out of sadness and frustration.

"She hadn't told me anything about the event and when I asked her what was wrong she just burst into tears about how everyone's mommy's were coming and she didn't want to go because she would be sitting all alone", he explained.

"So, I kept her at home that day", Jay finished his story simply.

"Did she ever ask again", Erin asked. "No, I think she was satisfied with my answer. Which was that one day her mom will come and visit her, but she's just not ready right now. Until then she has me", Jay explained.

Erin nodded her head in satisfaction with all of her partner's answers. She had officially run out of questions to ask.

"I'm really sorry I never told you", Jay said, taking her silence as his official time to apologize.

"It's just...In the academy, I kept my personal life and my professional life very distant from each other and then that just rolled into when I was a uniform officer and eventually to Intelligence. And I know, now that I have told you everything, I should probably tell everyone else", he stated.

"Voight doesn't know", Erin asked shocked. If Voight didn't know, Jay could be exiled from everything for weeks. Voight, also hated when personal mixed with professional, but he would definitely want to know this.

"No, Voight knows. And Antonio too. Oh, and of course Mouse", Jay reassured her. "Oh so what am I? Just your 'pretty' partner who saved your ass two days ago", Erin teased him, using Maggie's words from earlier in the night.

Jay couldn't help but laugh. "Relax. I was planning on telling you because Maggie has been asking a lot about my job and my PARTNER these past couple weeks", he said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'partner'.

"Maybe you should bring her by the district one day. Give her a chance to meet some people", Erin suggested. She knew Jay was most likely unsure about the idea after keeping her sheltered from a lot, but it was time the rest of the unit knew what was going on in his life.

"Yeah, I think that might be a good idea", Jay surprisingly agreed.

"Well, I should probably get home. We will most likely have another case tomorrow morning", Erin said as she stood from the couch, watching as Jay followed similar actions.

He only nodded and began to walk her to his front door, where he opened it like the 'perfect gentleman' that he always was. As soon as Erin got one foot into the hallway, Jay was speaking again.

"I should have told you the second we became partners", he stated, the guilt showing on his face.

Erin gave him a light smile, "Don't beat yourself up over it", she said. "I know everything now and all is good", she explained.

Jay returned her smile at the sound of her words. He was incredibly happy she had chosen not to hold a grudge over him for keeping this secret. No one wants to be the culprit of an angry Erin Lindsay.

"Plus, she has me now", Erin said as that same smile coming over her face. "Her dad's 'pretty partner'", she used the words once again to tease her partner.

"Good Night Erin", Jay said through a laugh, hearing her good-bye in return and closed the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, what do we know", Hank asked as he came out of his office and stood in the center of the unit.

At the sound of her boss's voice, Erin perked up, sitting on the edge of Jay's desk, and watched as Ruzek and Atwater shuffled around the whiteboard putting up evidence to their newest case.

It had been a little over a week since Jay had told Erin the story of Maggie and she had been brought into his other life outside of the Intelligence Unit. He had yet to tell everyone else in the unit or bring by Maggie to meet everyone. Erin wouldn't admit it, but she was dying to see that little girl again. She had barely even gotten the opportunity to speak to Maggie and already she wanted to know all about her. But, of course, they were deep into another case, so the possibilities of Jay bringing her by were slim to none.

"Victim is around twenty years old. Contusion to the head and her throat slit open", Jay announced. "There are also several stab wounds in the abdomen, which means that it is safe to say this was an overkill", he gave his opinion.

"Our main suspect at the moment is a guy who goes by the name Jackson. Not sure if that's a last or first name. No criminal record", Ruzek began to explain, pointing to a driver's license picture on the whiteboard.

"So, why is he our suspect", Voight cut him off quickly.

"He owns the warehouse where our victim was found lying next to one of the dumpsters", Adam backed up all of his previous statements.

"At night the warehouse converts to a hangout place for runaway teens to do pretty much whatever they want", Atwater added to the conversation.

"Was there any legitimate business coming from this place", Voight asked.

"Doesn't look like it", Antonio answered, as he flipped through a couple of files on the arrests and activities noted by other officers at the location of the crime.

"Where's Jackson", Voight continued to press questions on his detectives, turning in the Halstead's direction.

"According to Mouse", Jay began to say before his old friend cut him off at the mention of his name. "Since we only have a nickname there is no way to locate an address or vehicle registered in his name, so he's in the wind", Mouse quickly explained.

"So, this case is going cold fast", Olinsky finally piped up from his seat at his desk.

Everyone knew Olinsky was right the second the words came from his mouth. At the moment, all they had was the body of a young girl who was brutally murdered. No witnesses and most likely no DNA. With nothing but a corpse on their side, it was incredibly possible the case would go cold in less than a week.

Just as everyone began to digest these thoughts and fell into a comfortable silence, the telephone at Mouse's desk rang. He quickly answered it and, in usual 'Mouse style' quickly hung up.

"They've transported the D.O.A's body to the morgue and are running her prints for any type of identification now", Mouse announced the message.

"Lindsay and Halstead", Hank announced looking at the two detectives. "Find out her name and notify the relatives", he instructed.

Both detectives nodded their heads, as Erin walked over to her own desk to grab her jacket and Jay followed closely behind. As the left the district, Erin noticed Jay was sending a text on his phone that could only be about one person.

"Everything okay", Erin asked as soon as the got in the car and she started the engine.

"Yeah, I just hope this isn't going to be a long one", Jay said as he hit send on his phone and turned his head to look at Erin.

"I promised Maggie we would go to the zoo this weekend and I really don't want to miss her first visit", Jay explained. It felt so great to be able to tell Erin all of this, instead of just pushing all of his worries about Maggie to the side.

"She's five and she hasn't been to the zoo yet", Erin asked shocked.

"I'm always working and this weekend was supposed to be one of our weekends off", Jay explained his faults. "And she's four. I still have a couple more months before she's five and begging me to go to real school", he laughed.

Erin laughed, in almost some sort of admiration, as she listened to Jay talk about his daughter. "Who would have to take her if we get a case", she asked.

"Her nanny. She's a graduate student at Northwestern. She watches Maggie when we can't leave the district because of a case", Jay explained.

"But, I will be taking her this weekend", he reassured mostly himself as they pulled up to the morgue and Erin parked the car.

The partners walked silently into the morgue, flashing their badges to the woman at the front desk and heading towards the back.

"Ah, detectives. Good to see you", the doctor greeted them as they walked in. "I've run your victim's dental records through the system and it appears her name is Victoria Evans", she immediately launched into conversation about their victim that laid as a barrier between them.

"I have yet to run her name in the system, because I believe you guys like to do that", the doctor said, glancing up to both Jay and Erin.

"I can call Mouse now", Jay said excusing himself from the room.

"Anything else you can tell me about her", Erin said as she looked up at the doctor and then back down at their victim. She was so young. Every time Erin saw a young victim like the one in front of her she thought of how she was able to literally dodge that bullet.

"She had a mix of alcohol and prescription drugs in her system, which I am guessing, because of the reputation of the place where you found her, was recreational", the doctor explained.

"Your suspect is definitely inexperienced", the doctor pointed out. "He could have simple stuck with just these stab wounds, after she was knocked out", she pointed out.

"But, he cut her neck postmortem", Erin cut the doctor off.

"Seen too many of these", the doctor asked. "Way too many", Erin answered.

"Bad news", Jay said as he re-entered the room. "Mouse ran her name and she has no family located in Chicago", he announced.

"Possibly no family at all. Mouse said he was having a hard time locating even a distant cousin", Jay explained looking towards Erin, who just looked more miserable than when they had first arrived.

Erin let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to help you detectives", the doctor apologized as she covered the body of the victim again.

Both Jay and Erin shook their head, a silent signal that she couldn't have done anything more in this case than what she had already done. They both knew this was going to be too long of a case.

 **A/N: Remember me?! I know, I know - it's been literal AGES since I last updated but I have had a lot of personal projects to work on (such as moving into college) and work to attend to (such as keeping up my grades so I can stay in college) Not to carry on this note for too long, but I hope you all liked this short little chapter and leave some reviews to show how much you loved it/what you want to see in the future and I will get the next chapter posted ASAP! Thank you all for sticking on this crazy writing journey with me :)**

 **xoxo - anotherlifeontheinternet**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello hello everyone! I'm back with a fresh new chapter (one of my personal favorites of this story) and a lot of awesome ideas I can't wait to share in the future. Of course, you know that I am always open to reviews and PM's, so if you have any suggestions on where you would like to see the story go next feel free to let me know! Thanks for sticking with my through my weird hiatuses :)**

With no family to inform of the victim's death, Jay and Erin made their way back to the district in the mid-afternoon. The whole car ride over they bounced ideas off of each other of whether or not this was a stranger or someone the victim knew and trusted. Without any information on her social relationships or past, the Intelligence Unit would be as good as lost until they found someone who actually knew Victoria Evans.

As they pulled into their usual parking spot, Erin spotted Maggie Halstead sitting on the bench outside of the district with a woman, who she assumed was her nanny.

"Surprise", was all Jay said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

Erin couldn't hold back her smile as she watched a similar one spread across her partner's face. "So, that text message was not about the zoo", Erin pried trying to get the truth from him.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that", Jay said as he walked across the street. "All I can say is that I know you wanted to see her", he began to explain.

" _Damn it. I ask too many questions",_ Erin quickly thought to herself as Jay made that statement. But, what he had said was true. She did want to see Maggie again.

"And I think it's time that I introduce her to everyone", Jay finished his statement.

Before Erin could say anything in return, Maggie spotted the pair walking closer to her and immediately sprung up from her seat, sprinting toward them as fast as she could.

"Daddy", she exclaimed preparing herself to jump right into Jay's arms. It seemed like such perfect timing. The second she jumped, Jay was there to immediately catch Maggie.

"Hey Mags", Jay said as he kissed her cheek gently and Erin watched Maggie squirm as his rough scruff made contact with her soft cheeks.

"Hi Erin", Maggie said as she made eye contact with her father's partner and gave her the biggest smile.

"Hi Maggie", Erin said returning the four year old's contagious smile. Erin noticed the smallest little dimples show in her cheeks when she showed that smile and it absolutely made Erin's heart swell with love for this little girl that she barely even knew.

Maggie wiggled out of her father's embrace, standing back on her own feet, right next to Erin as the nanny Jay described earlier came over to them.

"Rachel, this is my partner, Erin", Jay introduced them to each other as Rachel outstretched her hand to shake Erin's.

"It's really nice to meet you", Rachel said with a smile. As soon as Erin released Rachel's hand, Maggie tugged on Erin's shirt and attempted to pull her down to her height.

"Rachel got me out of school early today so I could come visit you and Daddy at work", Maggie said with a smile.

"But, I'm missing end of the day playground time", she frowned.

"Well, I am sure we can make it up to you", Erin said watching as a smile came over Maggie's face. Erin could tell Maggie was waiting for the way how they would make it up to her and she was desperately trying to come up with something. The Intelligence Unit really wasn't anywhere for little kids to hang out, but there had to be something she could impress Maggie with.

"Our sergeant upstairs has a big office and I bet if you ask really nicely he'll let you sit in his desk and pretend to be the boss", Erin finally came up with something.

The idea seemed to be perfect for Maggie as Erin saw her eyes light up with enthusiasm. "Will you play with me", she asked.

"Of course", Erin said tucking a piece of Maggie's hair behind her ear, as the fall wind blew it out of place.

"Alright. Are we ready to go inside", Jay asked as he came up behind them after discussing with the plans for next week with Rachel.

"Yep", Maggie said as she began to jump up and down. Knowing exactly where to go, after watching her father enter those double doors countless of times, Maggie led the way to the front steps outside the district. Of course, she did not know what was going to be behind those gigantic doors that her father opened up, for both her and Erin.

As the three of them made their way up the steps and through another set of giant doors, Maggie stopped in her tracks as she took in the number of people in the front lobby. Erin was the first to notice Maggie's sudden loss of energy and the shocked expression come over her face.

"Maggie", was all Erin said as she took in the overwhelmed expression on the little Halstead's face. Maggie didn't say anything. Instead, she simply reached out her hand, in search of some sort of comforting contact from Erin.

She was in a strange place, where everyone was bigger than her and she only knew two people. So, without even second guessing her actions, Erin linked her own hand with Maggie's small clammy one.

"So, introduce me", Platts voice snapped Erin out of her own bubble with Maggie, watching as Jay turned around and noticed the pair were now holding hands.

"Maggie, this is Sergeant Platt", Erin said as she slowly led Maggie up to the front desk that was twice the little girl's height.

Maggie stretched her neck up and made eye contact with Trudy Platt, who had an out of character smile on her face. "Hi", she said, giving Trudy a small smile in return.

"How old are you, Maggie", Trudy asked curiously. "Four and three quarters", Maggie stated proudly, growing more comfortable in the situation.

"You're pretty smart, aren't you", Trudy said laughing. "Smarter than your Dad, who is going to have a lot of explaining to do to his team", she said looking in Jay's direction.

As Jay was defending himself, Erin felt Maggie tug on their intertwined hands and begin to pull her down. "Daddy was right", Maggie whispered in her ear. "Platt is very grumpy to him", she said.

Erin couldn't hold back the laughter that escaped her mouth. Of course Jay had told his daughter about the grumpy desk sergeant at the twenty first district. At the sound of Erin's laughter, Maggie's face lit up with a wide grin, pleased that she was able to make her laugh.

"Come on, let's go upstairs", Erin said as she led Maggie over to the stairs and began to show her how they logged in with their handprint at the gate.

"Better get up there before Lindsay tells the whole story", Platt said to Jay, finally allowing him to return his attention back to Erin and Maggie. Erin had now lifted Maggie up on her hip and shown her how her little tiny palm would not allow them to get through the gate.

Jay knew, as he watched Maggie giggle and smile while Erin talked to her on the stairs, that those two were soon going to be inseparable.

"See ya later, Platt", Jay called out as he left the place where he stood at the front desk and joined Erin and Maggie.

"What are you two doing", Jay asked as he climbed the steps up to the gate.

"Daddy! You have to let us in because my handprint doesn't work and neither does Erin's", Maggie exclaimed upon his arrival.

Jay simply obliged, putting his hand in the scanner and punching in the follow up code. Immediately the loud buzzing of the gate went off and all three were allowed entrance.

"Our hero", Erin exclaimed playfully, watching as Maggie laughed. She set the eager little girl back down on the ground, allowing her to climb up the stairs.

"You and I both know your handprint works fine", Jay said, teasing his partner.

"My right one does. But, my left isn't registered in the system", Erin explained. "It just makes a fun game for Maggie", she said smiling from ear to ear.

The two adults watched as Maggie repeated her freezing in place act, as she reached the last two steps to enter the unit. Immediately, Jay and Erin picked up their pace so they could stand next to her, where this time Maggie reached for her father's hand. As they approached the top step, Jay and Erin noticed no one from the Intelligence Unit was present in the 'bullpen'. Voight was in his office on the phone, but none of the other detectives were present.

"Wanna see where I sit, Maggie", Erin asked, disturbing the silence as she bent down and reached out her hand in Maggie's direction.

Maggie's nerves immediately washed away as she nodded her head in excitement to finally see where her dad and Erin worked. Jay watched as Erin led Maggie over to her desk and picked her up, so she was able to sit in her lap at her usual seat across from him. Maggie's curiosity was in overdrive as she took in all of the different things sitting on Erin's desk. There were dozens of colored post-it notes, pens, files, and a sole framed picture of the whole unit sitting on the desk. To Maggie, each of the objects were practically inviting her to check them out with her own two hands. So, immediately she picked up a colored pen and announced she would be drawing a picture for Erin.

"So, nothing on our D.O.A" , Voight suddenly asked as he came out of his office and looking directly at Jay. He had yet to notice Maggie's presence yet.

"Her name is Victoria Evans. She has no family and unless I find any priors in the system, no ties of any sort to the city of Chicago", Jay answered.

"I don't think it was a stranger either. Whoever did this knew her", Erin announced.

Voight turned in Erin's direction, to listen to what she had to say, but barely registered any of it as he took in the sight of the small girl sitting on Erin's lap. He knew she must be Halstead's kid. She was practically the spitting image of him. Voight was immediately grateful the whiteboard was turned over, so the four year old wouldn't be scarred forever by the images of the crime.

"Sarge, this is my daughter, Maggie", Jay introduced as he stood from his desk next to Voight.

"It's very nice to meet you, Maggie", Hank said with a smile. "Your voice is really scratchy", Maggie immediately announced. All three adults laughed at her unfiltered comment to the man she had just met. Obviously, Maggie was not afraid to tell the truth.

"Well, that's because I talk all day in order to keep your Dad and all of the other detectives in line", Voight said.

"We've got miniscule evidence at the crime scene", Ruzek announced as himself, Dawson, Atwater, and Olinsky entered the room.

"There was some blood smear where the body was located, but it most likely belongs to the victim", Atwater announced walking past Erin and Jay and towards the direction of the whiteboard.

"Kev", Jay practically shouted before he could even get his hands on the whiteboard. The last thing he needed right now was Maggie having nightmares from what she saw on that whiteboard.

Kevin immediately stopped his actions and by now, since everyone was looking at Jay, they noticed Maggie. "Uh..guys, this is my daughter Maggie", he said. At the sound of her name, Maggie sprung from her seat with Erin and walked over to Jay, who picked her up.

Erin watched as expressions of complete shock overtook each detective's face, except Antonio. Jay had told her that Antonio knew about Maggie, but had never met her, similar to Voight.

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Maggie", Antonio smiled, getting a smile in return from the little girl.

"You're my Daddy's friend", she exclaimed. "You helped him get his police job", she stated proudly.

"I hope that's all you shared with her", Antonio laughed, patting Jay on the back and then returning to his desk.

"Well, I am glad my assumptions were right", Olinsky spoke up. All of the detectives looked over at him, not understanding anything Alvin was saying. "What? I rode in your car with you once and there was glitter everywhere and I was just you know worried that..", he began to explain.

"OKAY!", everyone yelled at the same time, immediately shutting down Alvin's story before he even could finish telling it.

"Well, I am glad the first thing you thought of was that I had a kid", Jay laughed along with everyone else.

"Can I go back and color with Erin", Maggie leaned over to whisper in Jay's ear. "Yeah, of course", Jay said setting her down on the ground and watching as she went back to her comfortable spot with Erin.

"Look Halstead, I am not gonna say much because your kid's around, but Atwater and I are kinda offended we didn't know", Adam piped in.

"Yeah, man. I thought we were friends", Kevin added to the conversation.

As the three 'fought' back and forth with each other, Maggie leaned back in Erin's arms and looked up at her. "So, are you the only girl", she asked.

"Yep. It's just me", Erin said with a sad smile. If Jules were still alive, she would have loved meeting Maggie. Jules was great with kids, mainly because she had two of her own. She always dealt with the hard cases involving kids and made sure they were placed in good homes. Now that she was gone, Erin was trying so hard to live up to her legacy in the Intelligence Unit.

"I wouldn't like it if my whole class was boys", Maggie commented, sticking her tongue out at the thought.

Before Erin could respond back to Maggie, Hank came out of his office again. "Alright. I have requested to have all financial and lease forms on the warehouse where our victim was found on my desk as soon as possible", he announced.

"But, apparently that won't be until Monday morning", Hank clarified. "So, go home. Enjoy your weekend", he stated, before returning back to his office.

Erin looked up and watched as a giant smile came to Jay's face. She knew exactly what he was thinking. He gets to take Maggie to the zoo this weekend.

"All right, Mags. It's time for me to head home", Erin said lifting Maggie off her lap and setting her down on the ground in front of her.

"But, we didn't even get to play", Maggie complained, a frown coming to her face.

"Well, I am sure next time your Dad brings you here we will have plenty of time to play", Erin reassured her.

As Erin said those words, Maggie's little mind began to run wild with ideas. She quickly ran over to her dad, with no explanation to Erin, and whispered something in his ear. Erin looked over at the two, confused as to what they were talking about, but knew it must be something good as a smile spread across Jay's face. After they finished speaking, Maggie ran back over to Erin and tugged on her sleeve.

"Do you want to come over and eat pizza tonight and watch a movie and play games. Daddy said it was okay if you wanted to", she whispered, extremely rushed and filled with excitement.

Erin looked over at Jay, who now had an even bigger smile across his face. He arched his eyebrow, a silent question to her, which made Erin feel weak at the knees. Erin looked back down at the little Halstead that stood in front of her, who had an identical grin across her face. As she thought about her answer, Erin knew she was officially wrapped around this little girl's finger.

"I would love to come over"


End file.
